Mara S. Campo Launches Beauty Viral iLIDS™ Eye Wig [Excl.]
Emmy Award–Winning Journalist Mara S. Campo’s Viral ‘Eye Wig’ Invention Is Proof That God And Glam Go Hand In Hand [Exclusive]
Mara S. Campo is expanding her empire and impact in journalism by combining it with her love of all things beauty through her line, Mara Porter.
The four-time Emmy Award-winning television journalist, iTunes No. 1 podcast host, and beauty founder has been dubbed the queen of DIY glam. She takes pride in setting the standard for women who want to look like a million bucks without breaking the bank, and her latest endeavor is an extension of that.
“This 100 percent God-given, like, in me,” she told Madamenoire of her infatuation with beauty. “God planted this seed in me because I’ve been like this as long as I can remember. Every obsession I had, the thing that draws you like a moth to a flame, was always beauty-related. I remember being so obsessed with the Jet Beauty Of The Week.”
Campo recalled taking advantage of her mother’s subscription to the historically Black-owned Jet Magazine and flipping right to the pages where they highlighted women who not only walked the walk but also looked the part.
“Page 43 was the first thing I would turn to because they were so glamorous. The hair, the makeup, the bathing suit, the body, you know, all of it,” said Campo. “My eyes would turn into heart emojis, and I was just so obsessed with the glamor, and watching Soul Train, I really wanted to see what people were wearing. That turned into music videos in the 90s and 2000s, where all I cared about was the makeup worn by the artists and the backup dancers. That’s always been my joy. Always. And so when I was seeking to reclaim my joy, I knew exactly what that meant. It’s like I need to lean heavily into this, because it has always been my happy place.”
As the creator of iLIDS™, the world’s first “eye wig,” Campo is committed to providing efficient, affordable, and high-quality beauty products through her Mara Porter imprint. Although she’s prone to her hacks going viral, the latter took off in a way that blew her mind. It was then that she knew it was time to take the full leap into entrepreneurship.
“I’ve had this idea in my head for 20 years, because I had to get ready for TV every day for 15 years, that’s a full beat every single day,” she explained. “And even for someone who loves makeup, it’s tedious. You’re doing it wherever you are in the world, whatever time of day it is. It’s like, ‘Let me put these lashes on.’ I had to put false lashes on in a car during a hurricane before, because we were getting ready to go live. I was like, ‘Let me put these on,’ because being in a hurricane without lashes on doesn’t work when you work in TV.”
Campo added, “I would always think to myself, ‘I wish I had a wig for my eyes,’ just like I have for my head, because hair was easy. I would just throw the wig on and I’m ready to go on the air in minutes, but eyes take so long, especially eyelashes, and then there’s the glue, and it’s just sliding around, and it’s a mess. It’s a pain. I woke up one day this summer, and I was like, ‘What if I made that wig with a band-aid?’ Like a prototype. I wanted to see if it would work, and it worked better than I ever expected. I couldn’t believe how well it worked. It was completely divinely inspired.”
Along with a step-by-step tutorial for her newly released eye makeup hack through iLIDS™ (available on Maraporter.com), Campo shared other golden beauty rules to live by.
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Invest In A Wig.
Porter has so many crazy DIY hacks and creative options to add to your beauty routine; however, her go-to is always never to underestimate the power of a good wig.
“When I really am in a pinch and I gotta go, I’m a huge fan of a wig, and the reason I love a wig so much is because you take it off at night, you put it on a shelf, and when you come back for it the next day, it looks just as good as when you left it,” she said. ”You don’t have to sleep on it. You don’t have to worry; it just is very, very low maintenance. So, I am a big proponent of spending as much as you can afford. It’s all relative. Everybody has a budget, but really not going cheap on your wig, because you get what you pay for.”
“If you do the girl math, it’s actually not as expensive as you think, because you don’t have to color your hair when you’re wearing a wig,” Campo continued. “You don’t have to do cuts. You don’t have to do any of that stuff. It’s not like a sew-in. You don’t have to redo it. It’s a one-time expense, so get what you can afford. Go big.”
Know What Glam Is Appropriate For Your Situation.
We caught up with Campo virtually during CrimeCon, the immersive weekend-long event that brings together fans, experts, and creators in the true crime genre.
As a journalist whose work includes contributing to Fatal Attraction, she used the moment to share how she takes a different approach to beauty when appearing on television.
“I view your glam and your beauty as a self-expression, like many people view fashion,” Campo explained. “But, when I’m telling someone else’s stories, I should not be the focus. I want to look presentable, I don’t want to look crazy, but that’s it. My goal is to look presentable, to look like a rested version of myself with my hair combed and done, but not to be a distraction. And also, you know, not to subtly disrespect a serious story with glam that’s too casual or too distracting.”
She added, “I really have so much respect for those whose stories I tell, and I just want to do it in a very respectful way.”
Do What Brings You The Most Joy (And Ease)!
Black women are known to juggle multiple things at once and are often looking for ways to balance demanding careers with self-expression. Campo understands that the juggle is real, and aside from her wig style, she says it is essential to find the thing that takes up the least amount of your time.
“If it’s a sew-in, just so you don’t have to worry about it for stretches at a time, if it’s braids, crochet, because day-to-day, that frees you up to focus on other things,” said Campo. “Make things as easy as possible for yourself.”
She also added, “If it’s eyelash extensions so that you have them for two weeks, or even the DIY clusters, which are much more affordable, those will last a couple of days, if not a week. Getting your eyebrows micro bladed or pigmented, so you don’t have to worry about those things. There’s so makeup that does that too. The lip tin, that’ll last you the full day. Just try to ensure that your products and processes are really working for you, not the other way around, because it’s supposed to be fun and make you feel excellent. If it becomes a burden, that’s not the point. It’s supposed to be joyful. That’s my view. Finding ways to preserve that joy.”
